(Rennes) Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki pleads, in an interview with the French regional daily West Francefor a doubling of defense spending in Europe, saying they fear a Russian attack in Poland, Finland or the Baltic countries.
Posted yesterday at 4:05 p.m.
“You have to foresee that Putin will want to develop his aggressive policy, his invasion. It started in Georgia, now Ukraine, the next target could be the Baltic countries, Poland, Finland or other countries on the eastern flank,” Morawiecki said, in the interview also published by the German group. of regional press Funke Meediengruppe.
“We need a strong European army”, insists the Polish Prime Minister who believes that “we must double defense spending in Europe”. “We are currently at around 300 billion euros (429 billion CAN dollars), we should go to 500 – 600 billion euros (716 – 859 billion CAN). It is not impossible and it will allow Europe to finally play a major role”, he adds.
“The era of peace and international order is coming to an end,” he insists. “We have to be aware of that. This is a test for the West and how we react to this test will determine our future, not for years, but for decades”.
The head of the Polish government also proposes to exclude defense spending from the European stability pact to allow his country to spend 3 to 4% of its GDP on defense in order to defend itself “against Russian aggression against the European Union “.
Mateusz Morawiecki is also calling for “an unprecedented and crushing set of sanctions” following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “discussions to make Europe independent of the purchase of Russian hydrocarbons”. “By buying Russian oil and gas, we are now financing Russia’s policy of aggression,” he points out.
While Warsaw is in the crosshairs of the European Commission concerning the independence of judges and the non-respect of the decisions of European justice, the Polish Prime Minister says he expects “the European Commission not to bother us with the so-called rule of law procedure […] because we are currently defending the eastern flank”.
“I find that we are treated in a discriminatory manner, especially in times of war. We shouldn’t be treated like this,” he added.
Poland, a NATO member, shares a 535 kilometer border with Ukraine.